This Craigslist ad reminds me of the fable of the Scorpion and Frog , of which the moral seems to be about the temerity of the frog.

Prozac (fluoxetine) can sometimes perhaps work here for the Craigslist author's cat, but it's a bit pricey. We have it formulated as an ointment that is rubbed on the inner ear (the cat's) where it is easily absorbed — daily.

I've come across 3 cats like this in 40 years. Two were ours and another a neighbor's that shredded my wife's arm while sinking it's teeth into her hand while being fed (the cat) when the neighbors were on vaction. Animal teeth in flesh becomes bad news fast. All cats were long-haired like this one in the ad.

The situation with our first cat was solved by taking her to a farm family down the valley. She lived in the barn where she cleared up mouse problem there and thrived. She wasn't allowed in the house nor treated like a pet, though she came to be dearly loved and was considered flawless. She was like any farm animal: she had a job. Her pay was milk from the family cow every morning during milking and dinner scraps. Change of venue and a purpose in life (for cats & humans) can result in inexpensive personality change. We need more farms for cats & humans.

Some humans do poorly in prison despite tender loving therapy — and the obverse. Some cats do poorly in homes. Love, tolerance and prole food can be toxic to many recipients of same.

Thanks for such a priceless story Jack.

I have a cat that has some of these traits but is much more unpredictable. One minute warm and fuzzy the next claws fully extended. A great cat nonetheless. An excellent Craig's List posting for sure! Thanks Jack!

We lost such a cat a while ago - a Bengali female that ruled the household, was able to survive outside with coyotes, stop our Siberian Husky in her tracks with one look, and had once taken on and torn up two tomcats at the same time that outweighed her 8:1 combined. We eventually had to accept that she had either succombed to a car, or had been taken from us.

Animal control kept one of our posters and called us a couple of years later with a request to come look at a cat that had just been dropped off there. It was her, and all the person dropping her off had said was "we've had enough of this cat".

Her nickname was "Bin Laden", and she lived up to it.

Hilarious! This makes me want to write an even more hilarious craigslist sales piece on my three-legged black cat. I could provide hysterically funny video of him in a frenzy of joy, being scratched in the head and neck spots only his absent leg could reach.

My mother-in-law once advertised a pit bull for sale with the qualifier "hates cats" in order to avoid adoption by cat owners. She was flooded with phone calls from human cat haters who wanted a dog that would keep the neighbor's cat on his toes (or worse).